It’s not over yet: Road conditions vary across region in storm’s aftermath

Advice from an ice accident victim: ‘This weather is not a joke. Please drive slowly and carefully’

Katrina Whitaker of Cary, lost control of her car on an icy patch of Morrisville Parkway early Friday morning, January 19, 2018 in Morrisville, NC. Her story has a happy ending and she has strong advice for drivers.

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Katrina Whitaker of Cary, lost control of her car on an icy patch of Morrisville Parkway early Friday morning, January 19, 2018 in Morrisville, NC. Her story has a happy ending and she has strong advice for drivers.

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A warning to watch out for remaining snow and ice from Wednesday’s storm covered the Triangle on Friday morning while road crews again spread salt and sand on major highways.

Black ice that formed overnight after snow melted Thursday was a particular hazard.

Police said black ice appeared to be to blame for a wreck that closed one lane in each direction on the Durham Freeway (N.C. 147) near South Briggs Avenue.

Temperatures were in the low 20s at 5 a.m. Readings in the high 40s are on tap for the afternoon, however, and the weather service predicted “a pleasant trend to see over the next several days.”

Roads

The winter storm, which dumped nearly a foot of snow in some areas by Thursday morning, is blamed for the death of at least one person.

A wreck killed a driver who ran off a road in Washington County on Thursday morning, said Keith Acree, a Department of Public Safety spokesman.

A wrong-way crash that killed two person and injured a third on Interstate 40 in Raleigh late Thursday did not appear to be weather-related, police said.

The road’s westbound side remained closed until early Friday morning, however, and water used by firefighters at the crash created an icing problem.

Watch the ABC11 weather forecast to see when the temperatures will rise and the snow will melt away.

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The N.C. Department of Transportation said Friday that interstates and primary roads were generally clear but could have ice that formed overnight. Conditions varied from county to county on U.S. and major state roads, and on secondary roads, DOT said.

DOT spokesman Steve Abbott said the focus in Wake County and surrounding areas has shifted to secondary roads that are still covered or partially covered.

“We hope to plow and/or salt as many secondary roads as possible today,” Abbott said, noting there are 4,305 lane miles of secondary roads in Wake County. “What we don’t get today, we will work on Saturday. We will be greatly aided by the temperature approaching the 50s and the sunshine.”

The State Highway Patrol on Thursday reported more than 3,500 calls for service and 2,000 collisions since midnight Tuesday – with an uptick in collisions on Thursday morning.

Although sunshine and warmer temperatures will help clear some snow, state officials and the weather service warned that snow and ice that melts Friday could freeze again overnight, potentially creating more dangerous driving conditions Saturday morning.

Any improvement on roadways will “quickly revert,” the weather service said, adding that temperatures are expected to plummet below freezing shortly after nightfall, dipping into the upper teens in some areas.

DOT crews prioritized primary roads Thursday, including highways, and will move on to secondary roads based on traffic volume. Crews will work mostly on secondary roads on Friday, Cooper said.

A state of emergency declared by Gov. Roy Cooper statewide on Tuesday remained in effect until further notice.

A tow truck driver was killed on Miami Boulevard Friday morning. The tow truck was towing an SUV from an earlier accident when the driver apparently lost control of the tow truck. The truck went off the road and hit a large tree, the collision f

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Closings and delays

Schools around the area were closed for a third day Friday.

County and local government offices that had been largely shut down by the storm were scheduled to reopen gradually, with most posting two- or three-hour delays.